The Final Prank
by yeahishipdrarry
Summary: It is customary for students in their final year to pull a prank and this is how the Marauders did theirs...


**Random little one shot!**

"James, I don't know if this was a good or not," Sirius said whilst writing big red numbers on the backs of nine blast ended skrewts. James was trying to hold a few of them down and from stinging anyone whilst Remus was sitting there nervously looking at Peter who was keeping watch from the door.

"Hagrid is going to be so pissed off that we took them," Sirius continued but in response James just laughed airily.

"Sirius for once you sound like Remus! Come on, your the other part of the daring duo, I need your help on this one for once so can you just man up?" James asked with the mischievous twinkle still glistening in his brown eyes.

"So explain to me how this prank works again?" Peter asked. It always took Peter five more explanations than the others but he did always find it just as funny as the others when he finally got it.

"We number each of these a number from one to ten but we don't label any of them the number seven. Then when they are trying to round these up later they will spend a long time looking for number seven when there isn't one! Ingenious right?"

Even Remus had to admit that this prank was one of their more amusing (and a lot better than when they tried to send Regulus a toilet seat). As they led them out into the corridor, after Remus checking no one was anywhere to be seen, all of them were more excited than they would care to admit. Then after counting down from ten they let them go and all chaos broke loose. Now they had been supposed to be in a free anyway so they could have been anywhere, but they all knew it was best to get as far away from the scene of the crime as possible.

Especially when you considered that there were nine angry blast ended skrewts running around next to them. The boys legged it laughing hysterically and then split, James and Sirius going one way with Remus and Peter going the other. They sat in their various hiding places until suddenly someone began to scream. Soon there were people screaming everywhere and the boys took this as their opportunity to join the crowd.

They screamed as loud as anyone and in the chaos no one knew what was going on. Eventually everyone was shepherded into the Great Hall and the four sat down together as if they hadn't seen each other since before the incident. Professor Armando Dippett stepped up to the great golden eagle stand and raised a hand to silence them all.

"I am fully aware that it is tradition to play a prank when you are leaving school but usually they are not as disruptive as this one has been. We have a list of suspects compiled by both teachers and prefects but as yet have not narrowed it down sufficiently," he said, "Punishment is waiting for you when you're caught."

Suddenly the doors burst open and in came Severus Snape, running like a madman towards the Head Table. His face and visible body parts were all covered in burns and Sirius, James and Peter guffawed with laughter at the sight of him, whilst Remus smiled serenely. Everyone went silent in their interest to hear what Severus had to say and so the Marauders craned in closer so they could make out every single word.

"Professor Dippett," he panted out of breath as he had clearly run from somewhere, "Professor Dumbledore and I have managed to trap them all in a room on the ground floor with Hagrid's help but there is one still missing. Number Seven can't be found anywhere."

Peter snorted so hard that everyone turned to look at him, Sirius laughed so doggedly that everyone turned to look for the obviously present canine, James fell backwards off the bench clutching his sides whilst Remus remained completely serious faced. It all ended with the Headmaster noticing, dragging the three who had reacted off to his office and giving them hell about their prank along with dentention for the next month. Remus stayed smugly silent as he saw them come back to the dormitory each night and refused to confess to having any part in the prank.

However one thing did come of the prank; they never admitted there was never a seventh blast-ended skrewt.

And that was how Harry came to be told, in his fourth year of school, that there was a rumour that somewhere in the castle a lone Blast-ended Skrewt roamed waiting to find victims.


End file.
